Motorcyclists in West Michigan counties who forego wearing a helmet are more likely to sustain grievous injury than riders who do, according to crash data obtained by MLive Media Group.

Analysis of state police crash data for Kent, Ottawa and Allegan counties shows bikers largely kept a lid on their heads in the 62 West Michigan crashes involving injury over the two-month span since the state's 35-year-old helmet law was repealed.

Records show that of the 62 West Michigan motorcycle crashes with injury, 11 cases, or 18 percent, involved riders not wearing a helmet.

But those bikers were far more likely to sustain serious injury than their helmeted counterparts, the data show.

Five of the 11 unhelmeted, injured West Michigan riders, or 45 percent, suffered "incapacitating" injuries, according the police records. By contrast, only 8 of 51 helmeted, injured riders, or 16 percent, sustained such injuries.